


The Death of an Agent

by Cipher_the_9th



Series: Masks and Lies [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Deathfic, F/F, Goodbye best friend, Hurt/Comfort, I cried for a very long time after writing this, I've seriously had her since the beginning of my writing, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Now I need a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 05:50:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9586595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cipher_the_9th/pseuds/Cipher_the_9th
Summary: Nothing lasts forever, especially not a Cipher. Somewhere down the line, something always happens.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This will be set pre-Kotet. It took me a very long time to write this and I was crying by the end of it, mostly because Misty has been my main toon for 5 years. This is set post- found. No, I haven’t finished it yet. I’ve barely even started it. It’s on a long hiatus and I will be rewriting it. For now, consider this a stand-alone.  
> Characters:  
> Muirani’Shae’Daqu “Shade”- Shade is an idealistic chiss agent. She was adopted off the streets of Nar Shadaa by Misty when she was 10. She recently took over mother’s place as Cipher 9 and has been taking care of her ever since.  
> Sabosen’Ai’Ata “Naia”- Naia is Shade’s fiancé. She’s currently a padawan and has been keeping her connection with Shade a secret from the Jedi Council.  
> Shakka’me “May”- May is Shade’s younger adopted sister. She was traveling with Shade at age 6 when Misty found them. She has since started smuggling for the Republic.  
> Misty Veritas- Misty is a pragmatic former Mando former agent. She has retired since being paralyzed from the waist down during her capture under the star cabal.

Misty was a ghost – not in the literal sense, but rather in the way that she was always with Shade, like a spirit spying over her daughters’ shoulder. In reality, she was stuck in a hoverchair at a highly secret and secure building with top of the line security, and a ridiculous number of computer terminals. She was also hooked up to Shade’s comms along with a retinal implant so that she could hear and see everything Shade experienced. At times, it wasn’t ideal, but it was necessary.

After all, Misty was one of the last Ciphers. In fact, Shade wasn’t sure there were any more. She had long since taken over her mother’s role. Considering the fact that the Cipher 9 had no public image, it was child’s play to assume her place as the Empire’s top agent.

At the time, the newly dubbed operative had been hunting down some sort of threat. She didn’t believe half of it, but supposedly the Emperor was trying to wreak havoc again. It was only natural she had been called in to investigate. She heard an intake of breath, and she could tell Misty was going to make some sort of critique regarding her location. As always, she had been right. “Hey, Shade! Your position is a little obvious, try behind those rocks.” Misty chirped helpfully. Her viewscreen lit up, highlighting a large patch of boulders that could easily be used as cover. Her mother, as always, was correct.

“Will do.” She replied, slightly annoyed she hadn’t thought of it herself. She was pretty sure she would be lost without her mother, who at this point could also be considered her mentor. Misty guided her through all her assignments, and when she wasn’t on a mission, her mother was coaching her. Whether it be Mando customs, weapons proficiencies, or even infiltration and seduction. When they weren’t training or on the job, she was telling Shade stories about her old days as an agent. Special occasions were when her younger sister Shakka’me visited. It was rare and ever since her little sis had started smuggling, seeing her became even more difficult.

Misty adored the little twi’lek. May was always so upbeat when she visited that Shade was sure it could anyone smile. It always lightened Shade’s heart to see her sister chatting happily with Misty. She was almost certain her mother didn’t know that Shade knew her mother sometimes had nightmares, waking up in the middle of the night crying out and gasping for breath. Her mother tried so hard to hide it, to be brave. It was the only time she’d seen her mother give into weakness. Misty was still indomitable, though, never giving in no matter what. She seemed to be unkillable, and as far as Shade could tell, she was.

A mad jedi wandered into her scope and Misty laughed, “Seriously, how many fallen jedi can there be? I used to have to deal with them all the time. I mean, the number of them running around is ridiculous.” Shade grinned and she knew her mother was smiling too, “Should I take the shot?” She could practically hear her mother shrug, “It’s up to you, I suppose. You’ll have to start making your own decisions at some point.” Shade aimed, breathing deeply, before squeezing the trigger. She hit him dead center. “Nice one!” Misty cheered, “I think you’re getting better-”. She paused abruptly, mid-sentence.

Shade strained to hear what had stopped her from finishing. She heard the soft pinging of a comm going off, and then her mother’s voice returned to the comm. “Shade, sweetie, I’m going to take five. Kay?” Shade frowned. Her mother sounded a little tense. “What was that?” “Just someone with the wrong number. No reason for concern.” Shade’s frown deepened. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for her mother to fall out of her hoverchair trying to get to something and try to pass it off as something else, so as not to endanger the mission and worry her older daughter. “Ok.” She finally replied, sounding a bit demurred. She heard the comms click off, and she immediately switched over to her second channel.

“You get all that?” she asked. “Oh, yeah.” Naia replied, “Something is definitely wrong.” Shade sighed in relief, “So you’ll check up on her?” 

“You bet on it!” Naia exclaimed, “That time around, she sounded really off kilter.” “I owe you one”, Shade massaged her forehead. “Suuuurrrre”, she could hear the smile in her fiancé’s voice. “I’ll find one way or another for you to make it up to me.” Shade gave a grin, “Good. I’ll be looking forward to spending more time with you. I definitely don’t see you enough.” “How ‘bout Manaan in 2 weeks.” “That would be nice.” Shade stretched luxuriously, “Tell Misty I said hi.” “Will do. Kisses.” Naia grinned back as though she thought the comm could pick up her smile. With a click, she signed off.

Shade sighed. It wasn’t that she disliked taking care of Misty. In fact, her mother was mostly self-sufficient. She really only needed with things like reaching high cabinets and of course, whenever she fell out of her chair. That was easily fixable though. The only real issue was that her was that Shade was constantly worried for her. She had reached her thirty-second birthday, recently, outliving all her predecessors. It was quite the accomplishment.

A few minutes later, her comm clicked back on. It was Naia. “Hey! You’re back. Did Misty fall again?” Naia paused. “In a way, I guess. You should come over here.” Shade paused. “What’s wrong? Did she hurt herself or something?” The idea itself seemed ridiculous. She was pretty sure that Misty would have been able to catch herself properly. This time, Naia’s voice quivered, “Shade. You really need to come over here.” Shade scowled. “Can it wait? I’m almost finished with my assignment.” Naia’s voice was pitching between highs and lows like her sister after she’d had a particularly bad nightmare. “I-I think so” she stammered out. “You know what, I’m coming over there.” Shade finally decided. Something had really shaken up Naia.

She called a transport to take her to the nearest outpost and then rode her speeder off in the direction of their home base. Remaining on her channel with Naia, Shade attempted her version of comforting, “What’s wrong, Naia?” Naia gave a pathetic sniffling sound, but stayed silent. “Naia? Darling? Sabosen’Ai’Ata? What’s wrong?” She pulled to a stop outside of their small home to find Naia outside. The second she stepped into view, Naia dashed over, throwing her arms around her, and burying her face in Shade’s neck.

Her stomach lurched. “What happened?” she tried for what felt like the millionth time. Naia simply pointed at the door, which Shade now realized was a tattered mess of shredded steaming metal. It wasn’t a large house. It only had a kitchen, two bedrooms, ‘fresher, and of course the underground control room. Gingerly, she stepped over the shredded hunk of metal, wincing when it sliced her leg. 

The kitchen was a mess. Documents were strewn everywhere, and every drawer was open, hemorrhaging its contents all over the floor. The hallway was what stopped her, Naia who had crept in behind her let out what sounded like a squeak. The walls were littered with slash marks and blaster burns along with large splashes of what smelled like kolto as though someone had been trying desperately to survive. Her blood froze. Didn’t Misty mention she was trained as an Imperial medic? There was a high chance that Misty had been here. What made her heart lurch, though, was the blood. There were trails of it leading to the control room, the door of which was slightly ajar. 

Cautiously, Shade stepped inside, and then promptly dashed back into the hall to retch next to a terrified looking Naia. This time, when she stepped inside, her stomach only gave a heave since it had been recently emptied of its’ contents. The room had been turned into a scene straight out of a horror holo. She’d seen carnage, but never like this…

Slumped against one of the desks was a form that Shade couldn’t quite make out. All around the walls were spatters of blood. Some bits looked like a child’s drawing with very disturbing leaky red markers. When she stepped closer to the shape, it was nearly unrecognizable, its’ intestines spilling out and its’ head hanging down, once beautiful mahogany tresses clouded with the deeper red of drying blood. She felt Naia’s arms around her, holding her close. “I’m sorry.” She whispered, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” In that moment, Shade felt something she hadn’t felt since she was 10 when Misty found her abandoned in a dark alley. Her eyes were stinging. It felt strange to have liquid tracing its’ way down her dusty blue cheeks. Misty might have looked like she had been sleeping, had her body not been so mauled. 

Shade slowly pressed paler than usual creamy eyelids shut over unseeing deep brown eyes, now glazed over in death. She sank to her knees, cradling her mother’s body close, not caring how the blood stained her clothes. She was gone. She was gone. She was gone. She was gone! She was gone! She couldn’t be gone. Her unbeatable, unkillable mother couldn’t be dead. It wasn’t possible. Misty’s normally cream colored skin had turned paper white in death. Slowly, her shock turned to sorrow. She opened her mouth to say something – anything to Naia, but all that came out was a low keening sound. Her voice choked in grief and the tears came down faster now, streaming in a never-ending tide. Misty should be here to comfort her, to wipe the tears away. But she isn’t! She tried to form a barrier of ice, somehow Misty’s strategy didn’t work this time. The ice she cased around her heart simply melted, dousing her in cold.

She fell asleep that way, curled around her mother’s body which had long since gone stiff. When she woke in the morning, there was a soft blanket wrapped around her – Misty’s blanket. She paused for a moment in the darkness behind her eyelids. Why was she here? And then, she remembered everything and she could feel tears coming down again. She reached for Misty’s body, but it was gone. Curiously, she stood up, wincing at the pain in her foot which she had cut earlier. Wandering aimlessly, finally stumbled into Misty’s room. Sitting on the bed was Misty’s holo. Curious, she picked it up. Pinging was an unanswered message. Cautiously, Shade entered the pass code. The message opened, revealing her mother. She could feel tears prickling at her eyes again. Misty began to speak “Dear Shade, I’m writing this because by the time you find this I’ll be dead. Don’t go after my killer. She’s too dangerous for you and she doesn’t know you exist, so you’re safe for now. I’m going to need you to hide on Taris. Talk to an agent named Chance. He’ll provide you with everything you need.” She paused, fidgeting a bit. “Listen: I love you more than anything, sweetheart, and I’m going to need you to be strong for me. Inside, I’ve enclosed all of the holojournal entries I’ve written since becoming a Cipher. Hopefully, you’ll learn where I went wrong and avoid those same mistakes.” She smiled, waving at the camera. “Goodbye, my little Shade.” The way she had simply dismissed her death made Shade angry. She had seemed so calm and at ease with her fate.

Naia poked her head through the door. She was holding Misty’s body. It had been washed and her injuries had been wrapped in gauze. She simply looked like she was sleeping now and was wearing an old black dress that she used to love. Shade carefully eased the cadaver out of Naia’s arms. Together, they stepped out of the house into the grassy fields that surrounded it. She laid Misty’s vacant corpse down onto the soft grass and walked back to her newly departed mother’s room, finding a white sheet on the bed. Returning to the body, she wrapped it up, slowly obscuring her features. Somehow, it was easier to breath, like this, when it was just another body.

They chose a spot behind the house near a deep lake. Naia easily cleared out a patch of ground and Misty was put inside of it. Shade paused. “I love you, mom. You were supposed to be unbeatable, and I like to think you still are. Because this time you didn’t run, you stayed to fight. I’m sure if you were here you would say: Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save you, goodbye. She turned when Naia cleared her throat hesitantly, “I never knew you for long, but you seemed like an amazing person. I’m sure you were a perfect mother for Shade and I sort of wished you would be my mom too after we got married. I’m really sorry it ended this way and I wish I had known you for longer. May the force be with you.” Shade wasn’t crying now. She was pretty certain she had used enough tears to last a life time anyway.

Slowly, Naia lifted the pile of soft soil over her head and lowered it onto the white sheeted corpse. Naia softly took her hand in a gesture of comfort and gave her a sad, watery smile. “Ready?” Shade nodded, mutely. They turned, the sun just starting to rise and dispel the early morning mists, turning the world to swirling silver and gold and for a second, Shade thought she could see what her mother meant when she said “mesh'la”. Shade gave a small smile. She was ready to start again.

**Author's Note:**

> Aaannd breathe! This is my longest fic and I cried so many times while writing it. Please review and make my day better.  
> Mando'a:  
> Mesh'la- beautiful  
> Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la- Not gone, merely marching far away (Mando proverb)


End file.
